Illinois Hoops Recruiting Thread (July 2019)

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#129      
Personally, I will be disappointed if he doesn’t contribute solidly when he’s on the court and I think there will be plenty of opportunities for him. Since he stayed, I would think that is his expectation as well. The main problem for him last year was understanding what and where he was supposed to be. That problem should not be an issue this season.
In Samba's case he had plenty working against him. He is relatively new to the game of basketball, he arrived late on campus and missed some critical time to learn BU's schemes and (according to some posters) may have had some academic issues. When you combine this with the other issues similar big men face (strength and conditioning needed, step up in competition, freshman learning curve and acclimation) it's not difficult to understand why he struggled. He did show show brief flashes of what he could be but he often looked lost. The fact that we had a brutal schedule last year and the need to do everything possible to win now limited his opportunities as well. I'll be interested to see what kind of jump he makes but I was glad to hear BU mention he was happy with what he saw so far over the summer.
 
#130      

The Pontiff

Chicago, IL
4.0! I like smart players.
Yep, for sure. And if Ryan also has Giorgi's ability to absorb information, then even better.

Before the MSU game, had the opportunity to go through that game's scouting film with one of Illinois' asst coaches. He noted that Giorgi not only loved to watch film, but that his acumen for understanding the various nuances was through the roof. That they can show him ~5X more the amount of film than typical and he's still be able to correctly absorb and apply it. Very elite. Said they knew he was smart, but not like that.
 
#131      
I am in the camp that Samba will play more important minutes this year.

I believe he fell out of favor, last year, because he was lagging in "understanding", and BU's offense is "understanding" reliant. Samba being in, took us out of the 'flow', and the flow is key to BU.

So my hope is that he cleared that hurdle. That he became comfortable in the system and the game slowed a bit for him, in the past 7-8 months. When it clicks, it clicks.

If that primary issue is eliminated, BU will figure out a way to play a long, athletic 7-footer. (Ow, twist my arm.)

I agree, well said, Myers.
 
#135      
In Samba's case he had plenty working against him. He is relatively new to the game of basketball, he arrived late on campus and missed some critical time to learn BU's schemes and (according to some posters) may have had some academic issues. When you combine this with the other issues similar big men face (strength and conditioning needed, step up in competition, freshman learning curve and acclimation) it's not difficult to understand why he struggled. He did show show brief flashes of what he could be but he often looked lost. The fact that we had a brutal schedule last year and the need to do everything possible to win now limited his opportunities as well. I'll be interested to see what kind of jump he makes but I was glad to hear BU mention he was happy with what he saw so far over the summer.
What would you expect BU to say? He isntvgoing to be negative about a player in the media like Weber. When he plays Samba I'll believe he trusts him on 2019. When has BU ever been critical about a player that didnt play in a game we all saw. I d bet on Verdonk or BK first in that order er t given what I've seen
 
#136      
What would you expect BU to say? He isntvgoing to be negative about a player in the media like Weber. When he plays Samba I'll believe he trusts him on 2019. When has BU ever been critical about a player that didnt play in a game we all saw. I d bet on Verdonk or BK first in that order er t given what I've seen
Have you seen more than last year's games? Practice? scrimmage? Hoping for progress but I have absolutely no info.
 
#138      

ChiefGritty

Chicago, IL
Just a little tidbit for those who like to look up stats, etc...... Sports Reference sometime recently updated to include the RSCI top 100 players on each seasons roster. Very handy;
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/illinois/2019.html

They also have little NBA logos next to guys that played in the league. Eyeballing it, it appears the most future NBA guys we ever had on a team was 2002-03 with 6.

EDIT: Not sure how accurate those markers are though. Myke Henry isn't listed. I flipped over to Kentucky to see how many some of Cal's teams had, and noticed Alex Poythress wasn't listed either. Hmm, I wonder where they're pulling that data from.
 
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#139      
Are we recruiting Samba Kane?
Sorry about that. I was referring to our incoming recruits. Verdonk who just arrived and BK who has yet to arrive. I wonder how they could impact our team and current players. Maybe that was the wrong thread looking back but they are incoming recruits.
 
#142      

Deleted member 46511

D
Guest
Or was it that Samba had some off the court issues including the classroom that hurt his playing time?

Could be. I am not in the know there. (I'd not heard that until very recently, however.).

It could also be all of the above.

I know what I'm rooting for (overall), and that's about the extent of my control over it. :)
 
#144      
What would you expect BU to say? He isntvgoing to be negative about a player in the media like Weber. When he plays Samba I'll believe he trusts him on 2019. When has BU ever been critical about a player that didnt play in a game we all saw. I d bet on Verdonk or BK first in that order er t given what I've seen

Underwood uses coach-speak liberally, but he knows his players strengths and weaknesses. It's not that hard IMO if you read between the lines. He's a pretty optimistic coach in his way, and knows you can't change the past. Once something happens, learn what you can and move on. It's a lot like life in that way....
 
#145      
Name these Illini
Name the Illini.jpg
 
#148      

ILL in IA

Iowa City
I didn't realize Alonzo Verge Jr. is at Arizona State now. Curious to see how he does.
 
#149      
Illinois confirmed to see these prospects

Donovan Johnson, Nimari Burnett, Addison Patterson, Marcus Watson, Adam Miller, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Michael Foster, Jaylin Williams, DJ Gordon, Caleb Love, DJ Steward, Moses Moody, Hassan Diarra, AJ Griffin, Dylan Cardwell, KK Robinson, Earl Timberlake, Matt Cross, Darius Maddox, RJ Davis
 
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#150      
Donovan Johnson is considering a re-class into 2019, staff will be in to see him for Peach Jam where he will be playing with All-Ohio.

Brother of former UNC player Cameron Johnson, who just got drafted in the lottery to the Phoenix Suns. Arizona and UNC believed to have the inside track in his recruitment.
 
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